Thermal Comfort Assessment in Faculty Offices of a High‐Performance Educational Building in Canada: A Mixed‐Methods Approach
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Single‐occupant faculty offices remain underexplored in indoor environmental quality research, despite extensive studies on classrooms and open‐plan offices. This study provides case‐specific exploratory evidence on how spatial orientation and acoustic conditions influence thermal satisfaction in a LEED‐Gold academic building. Offices were classified as street‐oriented, corridor‐oriented, or void‐oriented based on their exposure to outdoor streets, internal corridors, or the central atrium. Over a 40‐day summer period, temperature, relative humidity, and airspeed were continuously monitored, and daily surveys captured occupants′ thermal and acoustic perceptions. Three offices representing the three orientations were instrumented, and 12 faculty members participated. Corridor‐oriented offices showed the warmest and most humid conditions, with mean values of 29°C and 74.6% RH, exceeding ASHRAE 55‐2020 thresholds. Void‐ and street‐oriented offices maintained more moderate conditions. A significant association between acoustic satisfaction and thermal comfort ( ρ > 0.60, p < 0.05) was observed, suggesting that sensory dimensions may reinforce one another. Because of the small sample size ( n = 12), all findings should be interpreted as exploratory. Even so, the results provide empirical evidence that spatial microclimates and acoustic perception shape comfort in high‐performance educational offices. Practical implications include refining HVAC zoning, improving acoustic control, and strengthening occupant‐centered post‐occupancy evaluation strategies.
Source: Indoor Air
DOI: 10.1155/ina/9639599
Institutions: University of Tehran, University of Windsor
Language: English
Subfield: Building and Construction
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,490
OpenAlex ID: W7119497400